Total No. of Questions 12] [Total No. of Pages 02
M.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION, MAY 2017
(Second Year)
ENGLISH
American Literature
Time 3 Hours Maximum Marks 70
Question No.1 in Section-I is compulsory
Answer any Two questions from each Section-II and Section-III
All questions carry equal marks.
SECTION I
Q1) Annotate any four of the following:
And thenceforward all summer in the sound of the sea,
And at night under the full of the moon in calmer weather,
O cruel hands that hold me powerless! O helpless soul of me!
O harsh surrounding cloud, that will not free my soul!
Blind creature; and a while he didn't see.
But at last he murmured, "Oh" and again, "Oh".
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
Man is thus metamorphosed into a thing, into many things. The planter, who is Man
sent out into the field to gather food, is seldom cheered by any idea of the true
dignity of his ministry.
In the greatest country in the world a young man with such-personal attractiveness,
gets lost. And such a hard worker.
And, in fine, the ancient precept, "Know thyself," and the modern precept, "Study
nature," become at last one maxim.
You and Hap and and ll show you all the towns. America is full of beautiful
towns and fine, upstanding people.
SECTION-II
Q2) Explain the significance of the title, "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking".
Q3) Consider Frost's poem "Home Burial" as a dramatic lyric.
Q4) Define Transcendentalism and discuss the transcendental context in Emerson's The
American Scholar.
Q5) How does Willy's desperate quest for the American Dream resemble a religious
crusade?
Q6) Bring out the themes in modern American poetry.
SECTION III
Q7) Give a critical estimate of Emily Dickinson's Nature poetry.
Q8) Write a critique of Thoreau's Walden.
Q9) Consider the novel Old Man and the Sea as a grand saga of suffering.
Q10) Write an essay on the use of expressionism in The Hairy Ape.
Q11) Examine the theme of Father and Son relationships in The Assistant.
Q12) Write short notes on any four of the following.
Boston Brahmins
American Civil War.
Depiction of slavery in 19th century fiction.
Democracy in Literature.
Theme of Alienation.
Symbolism in American poetry.
Transcendentalism.
American Dream.